It Could be You

It Could be You: female, single, older and homeless

This study and report was a collaborative project of Homelessness NSW, OWN NSW Inc. and the ST. Vincent de Paul Society, with support provided by the Australian Domestic and Family Violence Clearinghouse. The project was funded by the Office for Women’s Policy, Department of Premier and Cabinet, NSW Government and the St Vincent de Paul Society. It was researched and authored by Ludo McFerran.

This report documents a project which sought to interrogate the experience of older women and the reflection of that experience in policy. The project sought an inclusive homelessness definition, and to build a more robust knowledge base through which to inform policy and service delivery to this group.

Most of the women interviewed for this study did not fit the profile of older homeless people: most had worked throughout their lives, raised children, and endured abusive and difficult relationships. As women living alone in their fifties and sixties, however, they became susceptible to a health crises, sometimes work related, or age discrimination at work, resulting in difficulties keeping or finding employment. The crisis of losing work, combined with the failure or refusal of their family to support them, put these women at housing risk.